Esports fans around the world include some of the hardest to reach consumers for brands because of their cord-cutting and ad-blocking tendencies. While esports unites them as a fan base, their digital-first mindset is pervasive in their approach to broader entertainment consumption.

As manufacturers and retailers seek to capitalize on the opportunity of e-commerce, they need to understand consumers’ online usage, behaviour and habits, as well as what’s driving e-commerce adoption.

It’s undisputed that internet accessibility, mobile technology and digital innovations are redefining consumers every interaction and will continue to enable and disrupt many aspects of consumers’ lifestyle well into the future.

With rising consumer uptake across e-commerce categories, online FMCG growth is accelerating across the globe. In fact, we estimate that online FMCG growth will accelerate four times faster growth than offline sales in the next five years.

This report looks at the changing FMCG e-commerce landscape in eight markets (Colombia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates), influenced by 10 key drivers, along with deep insights for each of these markets.

Convenience isn’t just about store formats, products or packaging. And it means more than the latest technologies or new engagement strategies. Rather, it’s about every encounter, interaction and action that can help fulfill consumers’ growing demand for efficiency.

As the e-commerce channel expands, the future success of brands will be significantly affected by how successful they are online. As increasingly time poor consumers seek convenience and on-the-go purchases, online sales of FMCG will gain more importance.

Most brands and marketers are aware that traditional marketing and engagement strategies will no longer generate the success they did just a few years ago. But many have yet to carve a path toward growth amid an increasingly digitized market where choice is overly abundant and every smartphone is a sales register.

It’s no surprise that more and more items are being outfitted with built-in connectivity. Consumers’ adoption of internet-enabled devices isn’t a given, however, and it’s worth exploring why acceptance has been so fragmented across categories—as well as what the industry can do to accelerate usage.

Among global respondents, 74% say they appreciate the freedom of being connected anywhere, anytime, and 70% strongly or somewhat agree that their mobile device has made their life better. This constant connectivity has not only changed the way we keep in touch, but also the way we shop, bank and pay for goods and services.

As a consumer group, Millennials are just starting to flex their spending power, which will grow significantly in the coming years. While they’re years from fully establishing themselves, they’re already having a marked impact on the global consumer landscape.

VOD services are undoubtedly transforming the way audiences consume video, so it’s important to tune in to what’s driving engagement around the world. Our recent online global survey found that while several strong motivating factors will support continued growth, there are a few barriers to be mindful of, too.

Not long ago, “watching TV” meant sitting in front of the screen in your living room, waiting for a favorite program to come on at a set time. Today, VOD programming options put the viewer in control of what they watch, when they watch and how they watch.

VOD programming allows consumers to watch what they watch, when they watch and how they watch. And today, nearly two-thirds of global respondents (65%) in a Nielsen online survey in 61 countries say they watch some form of VOD programming, which includes long- and short-form content.

Online shopping is growing around the world, but is this affecting how people are shopping in physical stores? Consumers aren’t simply “showrooming”—browsing in store and then going online in search of the lowest-cost option. They’re also “webrooming”—researching online and buying in stores.

As connected commerce continues to gain momentum globally, it’s increasingly important that retailers make online shopping as simple as a routine trip to the store, even if they’re browsing from the other side of the globe—and offering the right method of payment is critical.

While connected commerce is still largely a domestic affair, cross-border ecommerce is a growing phenomenon. Shoppers are increasingly looking outside their country’s borders, as more than half of online respondents in the study who made an online purchase in the past six months say they bought from an overseas retailer.

Despite evidence that the rise of digital shopping has become an influential factor in the changing retail landscape, consumer shopping channel preferences continue to shift. A review of sales trends for select FMCG around the world reveal that when it comes to trade channel importance, there is no single answer that’s right for all.

For retailers, e-commerce is only one part of the digital picture. A complete digital strategy includes interaction at every point along the path to purchase. Digital touch points occur both in and out of stores, and consumers are increasingly using technology to simplify and improve the process.

While the appetite for buying groceries online is at high levels around the world—more than half of global respondents are willing to give it a try—digital natives are leading the charge. These consumers have an unprecedented enthusiasm for—and comfort with—technology, and online shopping is a deeply ingrained behavior.

From search engines to social networks, people around the globe mostly use electronic devices for three primary purposes: relationship building/maintaining, information gathering and entertainment viewing. But what does the future use of electronic devices look like, and where are the best opportunities for growth?

We’re living in a world of 24/7 connectivity, accessing our content on our own terms, and we like it that way. Around the globe, 76% of respondents in a Nielsen online survey say they enjoy the freedom of being connected anywhere, anytime. While consumers love this flexibility, it represents a huge challenge for brands and content providers vying for our attention in a fragmented viewing arena.

We’re living in a world of 24/7 connectivity. We access content on our own terms, and we like it that way. But while this flexibility can be a benefit to us, it represents a huge challenge for brands and content providers vying for our attention.

Consumers' time and attention around media is fragmenting. While the risks and rewards are potentially high in this environment, the ability to stake a claim in the expanding industry pie is central to companies’ growth. And measurement will hold a key to enabling true understanding of audiences' changing behavior.